Evanston's Christian Friedrich learns from his fellow Padres starters

San Diego Padres starting pitcher Christian Friedrich works against the Chicago Cubs during the first inning on Tuesday, Aug. 23, in San Diego.

San Diego Padres starting pitcher Christian Friedrich works against the Chicago Cubs during the first inning on Tuesday, Aug. 23, in San Diego. (Lenny Ignelzi / AP)

Charlie ClarkePioneer Press

During the most recent offseason, Evanston's Christian Friedrich tested the Major League Baseball free agent market. To his surprise, some teams viewed him as a starter. One of those teams was San Diego.

"It just kind of flipped my mind, because other teams I was talking to had me slotted as a reliever, and that's the way I thought it was," said Friedrich, who made a total of 81 relief appearances with the Colorado Rockies in 2014 and 2015. "I've started my whole life. It's fun to go through the lineup three or four times."

Friedrich, a Loyola alumnus, signed with the Padres and it came with an added bonus: He's been surrounded by talented veterans and young pitchers throughout the season.

"In the bullpen, you watch it on the TV but you can't ask (other pitchers) questions the next inning," Friedrich said. "Things like, 'What are you thinking there?' 'How did you know this?' 'What was your feeling going into that?' It's fun during the game to see what guys' minds are going and how they're getting to the pitch selections they're getting."

One of the pitchers he talked with was Pomeranz, who was dealt to Boston. Pomeranz pitched in Colorado from 2011-13, when Friedrich was just breaking into the big leagues. Pomeranz was selected to his first All-Star Game this season, and owned a 2.47 ERA in his tenure with San Diego.

"Pom is a pitcher in his own category," Friedrich said. "I've seen him get angry after giving up a run and then come in and tell me he's going to strike out the rest of the guys. And then he goes out and does it, strikes out eight of the next nine."

The two young lefties throw very similarly.

"I definitely saw a relationship between the two," said Darren Balsley, the Padres pitching coach. "Drew was throwing his breaking ball more here, and Christian saw how effective it was. Although Drew has one of the best left-handed breaking balls in the big leagues, Christian isn't that much far behind."

Friedrich also praised Shields and Cashner, a pair of right-handed starters who helped him in the weight room and with the proper mindset to have on the mound.

"Shields is a workhorse. He helped me get a lot of stability over my legs and my hips," Friedrich said. "Cash is a power pitcher, probably the most fun to watch every five days."

Christian made his first start with the Padres on May 13 against Milwaukee, where he tossed six innings of four-hit, one-run ball. He quickly became a key cog in the back end of San Diego's rotation. Behind Shields, Pomeranz and Cashner, Friedrich opened the season 3-1 with a 2.12 ERA in his first six starts.

As his rotation-mates gradually left, Friedrich became less effective. He struggled in the month of June, posting a 5.08 ERA and issuing 17 walks in 33 2/3 innings. In July, Friedrich went 0-3 with a 6.29 ERA, but kept his walks down. Friedrich allowed just one run in his last July start, throwing six innings of five-hit ball.

Despite his midseason struggles, Friedrich's ERA (4.99) is the best of his career. His ERA has gotten better every year he has pitched in the majors: 6.17 (2012), 5.92 (2014) and 5.25 (2015).

"The more innings he logs, if he stays healthy, he'll prove to the rest of the league that he can be a starting pitcher in the big leagues," Balsley said.